Buffing wheel



April 28, 1953 w. RuTHvEN 2,636,324

BUFFING WHEEL Filed Feb. 5, 1951i Patented Apr. 28, V1953 BUFFIN G WHEEL lWilliam Ruthven, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to Ajax Buff Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application February 5, 1951, Serial No. 209,385

8 Claims.

This invention relates to a bufilng wheel, and more particularly to a bufiing wheel provided with improved structure for pumping cooling air past the buff to cool the same and the surface of the workpiece being operated on.

A buiiing wheel normally comprises an annular cloth buff attached to a hub which is, in turn, attached to a rotatable mandrel or shaft. Normally, a plurality of such wheels are attached to the shaft in axially abutting relation in order to obtain a substantial area of bufling wheel contact with the workpiece. It will be appreciated that the quality of work performed by such a buffing wheel assembly and the speed with which the work can be performed are dependent upon the surface characteristics of the buii and the speed of rotation of the buing assembly. B-oth the speed of rotation and the surface abrasiveness of the wheel are limited because of the heat that is generated by friction and the consequent tendency toward burning of the cloth buff or discoloration of the workpiece.

The bufling wheels of the present linvention are provided with dual cooling means in the form f radial cooling passages between adjacent wheels of a bufhng wheel vassembly and with cooling air pumping structure including vanes or fan blades, thus providing forced air cooling of the buffs through the radial cooling'air pas'- sages. The pumping vanes are of improved and simplified construction, embodied in a separately formed vane ring, which is assembled with the bufiing wheel in an expeditious manner.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a simplified and improved bufiing wheel.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bufng wheel having dual means for directing cooling air past the cloth buff. A further object of the invention is to provide an economically formed buffing wheel including simplied means for axially spacing adjacent abutting wheels of a bufng wheel assembly to provide radial cooling air passages and including expeditiously formed cooling air pumping structure.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a simplified and improved cooling air pumping structure for a bufng wheel including expeditious means for attaching the 'vane structure to the wheel.

y `Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of one preferred ern- Abodiment, by way of example only, taken in con-- 'junctiori with- -the accompanyingdrawings.

2 On the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a bufin'g wheel according to the present invention; n Figure 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary partially sectional view of a bung wheel assembly and including two such wheels as shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged, diametral sectional view of the cooling vane ring of the bufng wheel shown in Figure 1. As shown on the drawings: As shown in Figure 1, a bung wheel I0 has an annular cloth buif I I attached to a hub structure I2. The cloth buff II may be of any satisfactory construction, such as a plurality of radially pleated bias-cut cloth strips which vare assembled in laminated fashion and sewed together. The resultant buff II has a rounded', generally circular inner periphery I4 dened by the closed loops of the cloth strips and has a generally circular outer or working periphery I5. In order to xedly attach the cloth buff II at its inner peripheral portion to the hub assembly I2, a clamping disk I6, of generally iiat configuration, is provided with a central aperture I1 defined by an integral axially extending annular hub ange I8 for receiving a rotatable shaft or Vmandrel I9 (Figure 2) which is, in turn, attached -to power means (not shown) for rotating the wheel or a plurality of wheels at a desired angular speed. The disk I6 is formed with a plurality of integral spaced projections or clamp-l ing teeth 20 formed at the outer periphery of the disk and extending in the same axial direction as the flange I8. The distal end portions of the -teeth 20 are tapered to form sharp terminal points 2|. l In assemblyingthe disk I6 with the bui II, the teeth 20 are driven through the inner peripheral portion of the buff. The end portions of the teeth 2t extending through the buff II are received in respective receiving slots or apertures 22 of an annular clamping ring 24. These free end portions of the teeth 20 are bent radially inwardly to lie against the axially outward surface of the clamping ring 24 to form locking tab portions 25 for iixedly retaining the buif II between the clamping ring 24 and the disk I6.

As seen in Figures 1 and 2, a plurality of radially extending cooling air channels or passages 26 are formed between adjacentlocking tab portions 25 of the teeth 20. Means are provided for increasing the depth of the cooling a1r channels or passages 26. Herein, such means `comprise respective protuberances or embossments.2.1,which are embossed-orimpressed axialair passages formed between the respective wheels and axial air passages passing through said wheels, means for pumping air into said assembly through said axial air passages and radially outwardly of said assembly through said radial passages, said pumping means comprising respective annular vane rings having integral annular flanges xedly attached to the respective wheels, each of said rings having an integral annular substantially frusto-conical portion extending radially outwardly and axially inwardly with respect to the respective wheels, and integral cooling air directing vanes formed in spaced relation in said frusto-conical portion and extending at acute angles relative thereto.

5. In a bufng wheel including a clamping disk and a clamping ring iixedly disposed against respective opposite sides of an annular cloth buff and with a plurality of tabs lying against the axially outward surface of said ring and forming radial cooling air channels therebetween, separate cooling air pumping structure comprising an integral annular radially inwardly directed ange portion having a plurality of radially inwardly facing notches therein, said disk having a plurality of integral tabs engaged in said notches and having end portions overlying said flange to ixedly secure said pumping structure to said disk, an integral annular frusto-conical portion of said structure extending radially outwardly and axially inwardly of said wheel, and a plurality of integral cooling air directing vanes formed in said frusto-conical portion in slanted relation thereto, said vanes inducing axial iiow of air toward said wheel and radial flow of air past said wheel through said cooling air channels.

6. A buing wheel comprising an annular cloth buff, a substantially plane circular disk abutting one side surface of said buff, teeth formed integrally with said disk and extending through said buff, an annular ring abutting the opposite side of said bui and having peripheral apertures formed therein to receive said teeth and local embossments adjacent each of said apertures, said teeth having tab portions deformed radially to overlie said embossments and to secure said disk and said ring to said bui, said teeth and said embossments projecting beyond said ring to space the associated wheel from an adjacent Wheel of a buiiing assembly, and cooling air pumping structure iixedly attached in coaxial relation to said disk, said structure including an integral attachment portion abutting said disk, an integral annular substantially frusto-conical portion, and spaced integral cooling air directing vanes extending at acute angles from the plane of said frusto-conical portion.

7. In a bufling wheel, a separate cooling air pumping structure comprising an annular frustoconical portion, a plurality of cooling air directing vanes formed on said frusto-conical portion in slanted relation thereto, and an annular radially inwardly directed attachment ange secured to said frusto-conical portion, said flange having means for attaching to the hurling Wheel and an aperture adjacent the center of said attachment flange for the passage of cooling air to the buing Wheel.

8. In a buing wheel having a clamping disc and a clamping ring xedly disposed on respective opposite sides of an annular cloth bul, a cooling air pumping structure comprising an integral annular attachment flange abutting said disc and having a plurality of notches therein, said disc having integral tabs received in said respective notches and having end portions deformed radially of said disc to overlie said annular flange to xedly attach said flange to said disc on one side thereof, and a plurality of spaced integral cooling air-directing vanes formed on said flange at acute angles to the plane of rotation ci said bung Wheel, said vanes lying wholly on the other side of said ange from the disc to which said flange is attached.

WILLIAM RUTI-IVEN.

References Cited in the le 0f this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,102,867 White Dec. 21, 1937 2,106,610 Kreilick et al. Jan. 25, 1938 2,124,114 LI-Iommedieu July 19, 1938 2,140,208 Murray Dec. 13, 1938 2,519,275 Mollica Aug. 15, 1950 2,539,844 Kingsbury Jan. 30, 1951 2,553,793 Stafford May 22, 1951 

